PICTURES: Northern lights hypnotise Estonians

18.03.2015

A solar storm on Tuesday contributed to a mesmerising display of the aurora borealis, otherwise known as northern lights, across Estonia.

Aurora is a natural light display in the sky (from the Latin word aurora, “sunrise” or the Roman goddess of dawn), predominantly seen in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions. Auroras are caused by charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, entering the atmosphere from above causing ionisation and excitation of atmospheric constituents, and consequent optical emissions.

In Estonian, this natural phenomenon is called “virmalised” and people are eager to catch a glimpse of dancing lights when they illuminate the sky. These Instagram pictures catch some dazzling moments in Estonia.